J model rail system (GOODER or BADDER :) )

[Spectre623]

How do you J model loadmasters with E/H time like the new system as compared to the old -4 Dual Rail system? What are some good/bad points on the J system? How do you J crew chiefs like the new system? Bill

[herkchief130]

As a crew chief I prefer the ECHS. Easy to config, easy to insp. Sometimes troubleshooting can take a little bit longer because of the digital components, but nothing is really that difficult. I know the operators love it, able to control and monitor everything from the controls at 245.

[DC10FE]

As a crew chief I prefer the ECHS.

ECHS? For us dinosauers.

Don R.

[herkchief130]

Enhanced Cargo Handling System. It includes the electric locks, the rollers that are built into the floor that just need to be flipped, a CVR or center vertical restraint rail built into the floor for CDS bundles.

[gizzard]

Electric locks???????????????????? I guess now you are gonna tell me there is a hydraulic or electrical pulley mechanism above 727 for the CDS pulley. Oh he ll probably don't do it that way anymore......... Do the rail locks on the right set themselves for airdrops????????? Dinosaurs???? Yep, fossils more like it. can't believe what technology has done

[Mt.crewchief]

As an old crew chief, how hard is the system to keep clean? You know, human feces etc.

In Viet Nam, the rail system, at the end of a day "in-country" could contain anything from grenades to people poop and who knows what else!!!

just asking,

Ken

[talonlm]

I guess now you are gonna tell me there is a hydraulic or electrical pulley mechanism above 727 for the CDS pulley.

Well, I can't speak for the AMC or J-model side of the house, but in AFSOC, the vast majority of the mass CDS drops during deployments were manual gate releases. Had to be in the windows, anyway, so why bother with a static line retriever cut?

[Jcapsparkchaser]

I have to agree with Ken you don't know what you will find case in point TSN RVN somewhere around Christmas 1969 I was dispatched out to an "A" model just landing from bringing in VC When the CC started yelling at me to get away from the airplane! seems he found a grenade hidden in dual rails. Funny thing as I remember the VC were hog tied to bamboo (hands) and they were blinded folded. made me realize the warning about the QC Vietnamese police were not all friendlies/

[loadsmith]

I currently fly on both and the J lock system is a lot more user friendly. The preflight for the J with the ECHS does not involve all the manual labor like the E/H. The ECHS locks can be operated manually but this is seldom if ever required. There are not many places for stuff to fall down in the rails, they are covered from front to back, no individual lock covers that can be pulled up.

[herkchief130]

The locks do not differ from left to right except they mirror each other. There is no need to set the locks, as you had to do to the right side on legacy models. The locks get calibrated with a test set which can apply force to ensure the locks are within limits. My only gripe as a maintainer is how hard it is to keep the cargo floor clean. With the rollers that flip, we spend a lot of time vacuuming the area under the floor to keep the belly from accumulating large amounts of dirt or corrosion. As opposed to just taking a broom to the cargo box.

[gizzard]

Don't you have to set the right hand locks according to the weight for a heavy drop like we had to back in the four blade days??

[Spectre623]

Thanks for the info herkchief130. Does the winch stay under the floor all the time or does it come out for odd loads? Can it be controlled at different stations or does it have a remote controller? Bill

[loadsmith]

Don't you have to set the right hand locks according to the weight for a heavy drop like we had to back in the four blade days??

We only set the MFCD (computer) for the size of the extraction or drogue chute.

[loadsmith]

Thanks for the info herkchief130. Does the winch stay under the floor all the time or does it come out for odd loads? Can it be controlled at different stations or does it have a remote controller? Bill

The winch is under the floor and can be operated from the front or rear, the pendant is movable and can be connect at either location. No more need for the winch restraint to the floor and worrying about your head falling off while working the Bulldog handle.

[loadsmith]

Here's a recent video of the Extracted CDS (XCDS) type of drop, some good shots of the cargo floor and locks if you pause the video:

http://youtu.be/COZo-Ori79w

[Spectre623]

Great clip loadsmith, it does show good detail of the rails. Thanks. Bill

[P3_Super_Bee]

GREAT info here. Was going to ask about the CVR. We call them Flip-up rails or center rails. One of my jobs is installing them, and we were trying to figure out what they were used for.

One of the things I hate about my job. Install, Install, Install, but don't know what the hell I'm installing and how it works in the fleet, and curious minds want to know. LOL I actually do install on all the ECHS stuff, as well as cabin pressurization checks.

[Metalbasher]

The problem with them is the tolerances when in the roller up config. The anti-skid on the walking surface actually chafes on the structure causing some corrosion...add in a little sand,dirt, debris is chafes quite a bit. The more weight rolling over the roller only exasperates the damage (small pitting and scratching) which isn't addressed in the TO. Not a whole lot in the TO to start with in regard to cleaning the ECHS and storage areas.

[loadsmith]

GREAT info here. Was going to ask about the CVR. We call them Flip-up rails or center rails. One of my jobs is installing them, and we were trying to figure out what they were used for.

One of the things I hate about my job. Install, Install, Install, but don't know what the hell I'm installing and how it works in the fleet, and curious minds want to know. LOL I actually do install on all the ECHS stuff, as well as cabin pressurization checks.

Well I can say a collective "thank you" from all the J model LMs for your work. The flip up CVR is 10 times better than installing the E/H model CVR. The CVR basically does what its names implies, provides Centerline Vertical Restraint when airdropping CDS side by side. Depending on the number of CDS we can load them centerline (no CVR required), but we then have to provide our own vertical restraint via a cargo strap. The ability to do an airdrop and reconfigure the cargo compartment takes about 2 minutes.

Here's a video of a CDS drop, the container is loaded on the right and the CVR is utilized:

[P3_Super_Bee]

Well I can say a collective "thank you" from all the J model LMs for your work. The flip up CVR is 10 times better than installing the E/H model CVR. The CVR basically does what its names implies, provides Centerline Vertical Restraint when airdropping CDS side by side. Depending on the number of CDS we can load them centerline (no CVR required), but we then have to provide our own vertical restraint via a cargo strap. The ability to do an airdrop and reconfigure the cargo compartment takes about 2 minutes.

Here's a video of a CDS drop, the container is loaded on the right and the CVR is utilized:

You are quite welcome.